Stay Safe at the Lake
Summertime is boating time. Banner Health Ogallala Community Hospital, along with the Nebraska Game and Park Commission, wants you and your family to stay safe at the state recreation areas and lakes this summer.
Overall, it is important to prepare yourself for a day at the lake and observe common-sense precautions as well as general safety rules to keep you and your family safe while you boat, jet ski, swim or enjoy yourself around the water.
Despite the best precautions, accidents can still happen. Banner Health and the Nebraska Game and Parks offer these tips to prevent and handle any emergency that may come up.
First and foremost: Wear a life jacket!
Children under 13 are required by state and federal law to wear a properly-fitting, Coast Guard-approved life jacket anytime they are onboard any boat.
People on personal watercraft must wear a life jacket regardless of their age, as must anybody being towed by a boat (skiing, tubing, etc). Everyone else must have an appropriately sized life jacket "readily accessible." Of course, the best practice is to be wearing your life jacket!
Children should never be allowed to operate personal watercraft--Jet Skis, Sea Doos, Waverunners and other such boats. Like any other motorboat, the operator must be at least 14 years of age and have completed a boating safety course if under 18.
Lacerations: Broken glass, sharp metal, fishing hooks, sticks and other sharp plant life are easily hidden beneath the sand and water.
- Most bleeding can be stopped with direct pressure with a clean, dry cloth.
- Cleanse the wound with gentle soap and water to help reduce the chance of infection.
- You may need a tetanus shot if you have not had one in a long time.
- Seek medical attention if…
The wound keeps bleeding or pain in the wound gets worse.
You have a high temperature or signs of infection
(redness, pus, or red streaks leading from the wound).
You have numbness or swelling below the wound, or you cannot move the joint below the wound.
Wake injuries: Impacts from wakes can cause a boat or personal watercraft passenger to be thrown into the air and land forcefully back onto the boat or into the water.
If you have been injured by a wake:
- Lie down on your back on a very firm, flat surface, and keep still until medics can reach you, or you can obtain medical attention.
- If you have any numbness, weakness, loss of control of urine or stool, radio for help immediately.
Prevention
- Slow down when passing boats.
- Approach boat wakes at a 45-degree angle.
- Warn all passengers to hold on when approaching a large wake.
- Bow riding (sitting on the top front part of the boat) is illegal unless the boat is designed for people to ride in the bow section (the bow section will have seats).
- Look at the size of the wake, not the size of the boat. Depending on hull design, even relatively smaller boats can produce serious wakes.
Dehydration: Dehydration is often the underlying cause of sickness and accidents on the lake.
- Drink eight to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water daily or more during extreme heat, low humidity or activity.
- Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic beverages.
- Protect your skin: wear sunscreen, protective clothing, and reduce activity during the hottest part of the day (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
- Check the color your urine. It should be a pale yellow, like the color of straw. If it is dark, drink more fluids.
If you become dehydrated:
- Stop activity, rest and get out of direct sunlight. Drink 64 oz of cool liquids (including rehydration fluids) over the next two to four hours.
- Seek medical attention if...dizziness, weakness, confusion, fainting, fast-beating heart or no urination for eight hours.
